I-10 reopens after 12 hour closure due to big rig pileup

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State Police reopened I-10 West through West Baton Rouge after a seven-vehicle pileup involving several tractor trailers forced it closed for around 12 hours.

Trooper Nick Manale said investigators are still looking into the root cause of the wreck, which he said happened around 3 a.m. just past the LA 1 exit to Port Allen.

Investigators said a woman stopped in the middle of I-10 and got out of her vehicle, possibly because she thought something hit her vehicle. An 18-wheeler driving through the area then hit her car, which in turn was hit by five other big rigs in the foggy and dark conditions.

Acadian Ambulance said two people were taken to an area hospital with minor to moderate injuries from the scene. State Police said they were investigating whether or not the combination of fog and a possible mixture of smoke from nearby burning cane fields may have contributed to causing the wreck.

Pictures taken by Louisiana State Police showed wreckage strewn across I-10 West mid-morning. Two of the trucks were hauling soda and alcohol, which had spilled across the interstate.

Officials said traffic was still backed up heavily along I-10 West through Baton Rouge because of the earlier detour onto US 190.